


If I Give You This

by FandomStar



Series: Merthur Week 2020 [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen, Gift Giving, Implied Feelings, Merthur Week 2020, Oblivious Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Shy Merlin (Merlin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28284204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomStar/pseuds/FandomStar
Summary: Merthur Week 2020 Day 4 - "What are you hiding Merlin?" + funArthur hasn't seen Merlin all day. He decides to see what's going on.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthur Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2066877
Kudos: 42
Collections: Merthur Week 2020





	If I Give You This

Arthur was getting a little frustrated. So far that morning, Merlin had left him to wake up late, find his own breakfast and find another servant to help him put his armour on for practise. As it neared lunchtime, he decided he’d had enough and determinedly stormed through the castle to Gaius’ chambers in search of his incompetant manservant. Gaius wasn’t around, so Arthur approached the door to Merlin’s bedroom without resistance. He knocked with a heavy fist.

“Yes?” Merlin’s muffled voice called from inside.

“Merlin, I want to see you.” 

There was a curse and the sound of something with significant weight dropping to the floor, before Merlin poked his head around the crack he’d opened in his door. Arthur stood where he was, arms crossed at his chest, eyebrow raised and weight rested on one hip.

“Merlin.”

“Arthur.”

“Care to tell me where you’ve been for, oh I don’t know, the whole morning?”

Merlin bit his lip, and Arthur really wished he could stop his eyes from being drawn to that movement.

“Project. Very important one,” Merlin eventually replied, seeming nervous and as though he was going to retreat back into his room at any moment. “For Gaius.”

“Really?” Arthur asked, getting a frantic nod. “You’re a very bad liar, Merlin. You know that, don’t you?”

_ “I am not,” _ Merlin insisted. “Now, if you’ll excuse me-” 

He stepped back and made to close the door, not seeing that Arthur had wedged his foot between the door and its frame, rendering any closure attempts useless.

“Merlin, Merlin,” he tutted, a teasing smirk on his lips. “What  _ are _ you hiding, Merlin?”

_ “Arthur-” _ Merlin began to protest, before being cut off by the prince overpowering his hold on the door.

Both young men froze. Nervously, Merlin wrung his hands together. In the middle of his bed was a band of gold.

“Merlin, what’s this?” Arthur quietly asked.

“Birthday present,” Merlin responded in a whisper, not meeting Arthur’s eyes. “For you.” He swallowed. “It’s not finished.”

Arthur didn’t move. Neither did Merlin.

“You can look at it properly if you want. Now you’ve seen it.” Merlin said.

For a long moment, Arthur didn’t take his eyes off Merlin, before carefully approaching and sitting on the edge of Merlin’s bed. He took the small-ish band into his hand. 

“A bracelet?”

Merlin nodded in confirmation. He hoped Arthur wouldn’t sense the magic coursing through it.

“Did you do the engraving yourself?” Arthur asked, rubbing his thumb over the patterns on the surface of the metal.

Merlin nodded again. When he finally looked up from the ground, he found Arthur standing two inches from him with a look in his eyes that he couldn’t entirely place.

“It’s… it’s beautiful Merlin.” Arthur whispered in awe.

Timidly, Merlin smiled. “Thank you.”

Something tense but mildly pleasant passed between them, before Arthur took hold of Merlin’s hand and placed the bracelet into his palm.

“Can’t wait to see it when it’s finished.” he whispered into his manservant’s ear, before vanishing from the room.


End file.
